While
we have been busy fretting over Hollywood’s latest releases to mock
the traditional family, quietly a documentary has been released which
chronicles the lessons of heroism, and the faithful legacies passed
from our WWII veterans to their families.

The
documentary, “The League of Grateful Sons,” is produced by Vision
Forum Ministries and directed by Geoff Botkin. The film, focusing
on the battle of Iwo Jima, recently premiered on board the U.S.S.
Missouri, the very location where the treaty was signed which ended
WWII. Once a year the island of Iwo is opened to Americans to visit.
Last March, in honor of the 60th anniversary of the battle of Iwo
Jima, Vision Forum as part of their Faith of The Fathers Project,
assembled over eighty veterans as they journeyed to the island with
their sons and their grandsons.

John
Butler, Jr and his brother Clinton journeyed to Iwo Jima to honor
the memory and legacy of their father, Lt. Col John A. Butler. Their
father, a marine battalion commander was killed in action Mar. 5th,
1945 after heroic leadership and sacrifice during one of the bloodiest
conflicts of the War. Their memory of their father was captured through
personal letters that their father had written Johnny Boy encouraging
him to help his mother, and to be the man of the house. This was the
final letter from his father the day before Iwo:

February
18, 1945

Dear
Johnny Boy:

Tomorrow
morning Dad is going to play war with all his strength, so that Mommy
can sing to you "A Wee Little Lad" and mean every word of it.

Red
will be right along side Dad. You would laugh to see the way we are
dressed. I am carrying so many guns, and they are sticking out on
all sides. As the man of the house, Dad is counting on you to continue
in helping Mom in every way.

When
I come home, I will have many stories to tell you about those ships
and planes and jeeps and trucks.

Col.
Bill Henderson, a member of the 5th division, survived all 36 days
of combat on the volcanic island. Colonel Henderson, now 82 years
old had to have 4 marines carry him to the beaches of Iwo with his
family. The driving force behind his valor and his courage were in
his words, “never wanting to do anything to disappoint his father.”
Colonel Henderson has dedicated the rest of his life to telling the
faithfulness of God to the next generation. He surrendered his life
to Christ when he was 5 years old, and admits that in 77 years God
has showed himself faithful, even through the horrors and nightmare
of his youth on Iwo.

There
is sometimes a disconnect between the fathers who fought in WWII,
and their families. Many did not know how to process the brutalities
and rigors of war and many have stayed silent. While thought to be
dead after being shot down over Tokyo Bay, 2nd Lt. Bill Brown returned
with his son Scott Brown, his granddaughter, and grandson to speak
of the providences and faithfulness of God. He served as a P-51 Mustang
pilot who flew escort missions to Iwo Jima. Mr. Brown has spent his
life telling his family about God’s faithfulness in his life. As he
returned to Iwo Jima, he read to his family on top of Mt. Suribachi
from the same Bible he had read 60 years earlier in a foxhole. His
son and grandchildren were able to walk in the footsteps of their
faithful father.

Lt.
Leonard Isacks Jr. enlisted when he was 32 years old and left a profitable
position with the Firestone Company. Lt. Isack’s son had wanted to
travel to Iwo Jima to honor his father but died before getting a chance
to return, to walk where his father walked. His grandsons went in
his place to honor their memory of both their father and their fallen
grandfather. Lt. Isacks memory lives on through over 1200 pages of
letters that Lt. Isacks had written to his wife, and through the histories,
and stories that the Isack brothers are now telling.

We
must tell their stories. We must inquire of our fathers, and ask them
to tell us their stories.

The
great lessons of the WWII generation and Iwo Jima demonstrate perseverance
against impossible odds, and the importance of remembering and honoring
in the context of the fifth commandment, those who fought so that
their posterity could be free.

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The
words of executive producer Doug Phillips, serve as a stark reminder
of our duty to those who come after us, “Fathers will teach the next
generation, or they will lose the next generation. Fathers will speak
to the next generation about the many providences of God in protecting
and preserving them, or the next generation will be without hope.
God will not be mocked: We will either walk beside our sons and teach
them to honor their fathers, or there will be no nation for America
to defend.” (The Family Vision, Vol. 1., Issue 2 May/June)

By
God’s grace, may we pick up the mantle of our faithful fathers and
carry it on.

Nick Jackson is
a physical therapist from Ohio who assists pro-life and pro-family ministries
in the Central Ohio area. He is executive director of Reform America,
a Christian Activist organization based in Columbus. For more information
on Reform America go to www.reformamerica.com

The
great lessons of the WWII generation and Iwo Jima demonstrate perseverance
against impossible odds, and the importance of remembering and honoring
in the context of the fifth commandment, those who fought so that their
posterity could be free.